Welcome to another TTT! Before I get into this week’s list, I wanted to thank those who gifted me a book from my wish list last week! Thank you so, so much to Lillian @ Mom with a Reading Problem for Done and Dusted, Lisa M. for Mistletoe for Felicity, Carrie @ Reading is My Super Power for Just Forever Friends, and R for The One With the Kiss Cam and My Lucky Charm! I sent you thank you notes through Amazon or commented on your blogs and hope you know how much your kindness means to me! I’ve been passing a kidney stone (and it just passed seriously 10 minutes ago–finally!!) and you all brought me so much sunshine and love during a very painful week! So thank you again!
This week’s topic is Top Ten Books on My Summer 2024 To-Read List! I know I say this every single time we do one of these seasonal TBRs, but I both love and hate these lists. lol. I love picking out everything I am exited to read over the next few months, but I also feel so guilty for never sticking to the list. LOL. Mood reader for life! I might be able to read at least a few of these, though! I love reading contemporary romances featuring travel or beaches during the summer, along with the occasional mystery/thriller. Maybe it’s because I tend to travel myself in the summer or want to cool off with a chilling read, but I really love these kinds of books this time of year.
1. Summer Ever After by Kortney Keisel
I’m actually excited about this entire collaborative Falling for Summer series! Some of my favorite authors are releasing a new book every week or so through July, and I want to read all of them! This first one just came out last week! They’re all going to be available through Kindle Unlimited, too.
Falling in love is easy. Finding the right guy to spend happily ever after with… that’s the hard part.
But I have a foolproof plan. I’m taking the tropes that work in romance books and applying them to my love life.
Only one bed? Never fails.
Caring for someone when they’re sick? A classic.
“Who did this to you?” Seals the deal every single time.
So long, loneliness. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
But the more I try to force romance, the more feelings naturally progress with the one man who’s off limits: Walker Collins, the guy I’ve had a secret crush on since 7th grade, not to mention my best friend’s older brother.
Dating Walker crosses BFF lines I swore I’d never cross. Plus, he hates Sunset Harbor, and his pro golf career will take him off the island as fast as he came, sending me back to the land of singlehood, loneliness, and broken hearts.
At the end of the day, I don’t want to be the fool in my foolproof plan.
2. Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour by Nora Nguyen
What’s a few weeks to a lifetime of promise?
Evie Lang’s life is in shambles. On the heels of losing her beloved aunt, she’s unceremoniously fired from her poetry professorship by her secret boyfriend. Lacking income and inspiration, she’s stuck in Ohio with no idea how to move forward—until hope arrives in a surprising letter.
Auntie Hảo left Evie the deed to her San Francisco row house, a place full of Evie’s happiest memories. The catch? To inherit, she must go on a pre-arranged matchmaking tour in Việt Nam. The last thing Evie wants is to spend time with a group of strangers looking for love. But she can’t resist the chance to finally visit her family’s native home.
A world away, Adam Quyền has a chip on his shoulder. He’s working around the clock as CMO for his sister’s elite matchmaking business, a job complicated by her insistence that he knows nothing about love. He’s desperate to prove himself, so when she challenges him to join the inaugural tour, he reluctantly agrees.
Adam thinks Evie is chaotic and unpredictable. Evie thinks Adam is grumpy and uptight. But from the bustling streets of Hồ Chí Minh City to the soaring waterfalls in Đà Lạt, they keep getting thrown together, their animosity charged with attraction…and they discover that true love may be out there, if they are willing to take a leap.
Two stubborn hearts, one whirlwind adventure, Adam & Evie’s Matchmaking Tour is a story of how loving (and living) bravely can lead you to the most unexpected places—and the most imperfectly perfect loves.
3. Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
Summer won’t last forever.
Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She’s learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her friendships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win―something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs a partner.
Fisher Lange was a hotshot chef in New York City until the loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for his teenage niece Indy. When Fisher loses his Michelin star along with his love of cooking, his boss sends him and Indy to Spunes on a much-needed summer sabbatical to consult on a restaurant opening. But when clashes with the townspeople threaten his last chance to redeem himself and a kiss with his new neighbor Sage leads to dating rumors, a strategic alliance might just be the best way to turn things around.
A deal is struck. Sage will improve Fisher’s image in the eyes of the town and remove the roadblocks he is facing with the restaurant, and Fisher will be Sage’s partner for the competition. But as their pact quickly turns into steamy rendezvous, emotional wounds begin to heal, and the pair tries to savor every moment, they start to realize that summer is racing by much faster than they would like…
Filled with spicy summer fun, small-town charm, and Big Feelings, this highly anticipated romcom is Tarah DeWitt’s best yet.
4. Fake Flame by Adele Buck
In this fun, fast-paced romantic comedy, a bookish firefighter who knows his Jane Austen suggests a little fake dating to fend off an ex. What’s a feminist English professor to do—except say yes…
You can’t fake heat like this…
To an observer, hauling a baby grand piano onto a college quad to publicly serenade an ex might seem like a romantic gesture. To literature professor Eva Campbell, it’s the latest manipulative move by a cheating jerk who won’t take a hint. Plus, she never liked that song anyway.
Setting the piano on fire might be an overreaction, but Eva’s at the end of her rope, at least until hot young firefighter Sean Hannigan talks her down. And that’s not all Sean does. Soon he’s offering to be Eva’s fake boyfriend to get her creepy ex off her back. Unexpected, maybe, but there’s something about Sean—beyond the angelic face and take-me-now body—that makes Eva say yes.
Sean battles infernos for a living, reads romance on the side and is a straight-up, family-loving good guy. Eva’s not sure she’s ready for the danger he poses to her jaded heart. Given their differences, a relationship can’t last, right? But the line between fake and real keeps blurring, daring her to take the biggest risk of all…
From showing up to glowing up, these characters are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way.
5. Caribbean Crush by R.S. Grey
Set sail with USA Today bestselling author R.S. Grey in this sizzling romance between old rivals who reunite on a cruise ship, only to discover that they want much more than just another competition.
Casey Hughes is a struggling travel journalist desperate for a big break when she lands the assignment of a hop on board Aurelia for its maiden voyage through paradise. While she’ll bask in the luxury cruise ship’s fine dining and complimentary spa treatments, her real mission is to snag an exclusive interview with Phillip Woodmont.
Casey and the elusive shipping heir have history. Once, they were nothing short of brutal enemies. Though the former brace-faced teen is now a suited-up CEO with devastating good looks, he makes it clear to Casey that he has no interest in forgetting their past.
The volatile grudge between them is as explosive as ever. More than once Casey is tempted to toss Phillip overboard, but for her work, she’ll have to swallow her pride. If it’s an apology he’s after, she’ll serve it up on a silver platter. If he wants her to walk the plank, she’ll salute with an aye, aye, Captain.
Casey can’t let him provoke her. She needs this interview. So if Phillip wants to play dirty, Casey will just have to play dirtier.
6. Love in Tandem by Becca Kinzer
She’s perfectly content leading a quiet life in her small hometown. He’s an adventurer with unquenchable wanderlust. The two couldn’t be any more opposite if they tried. But a tandem bicycle and a 500-mile road trip just might change all that.
After a failed engagement and her mother’s battle with cancer, Charlotte Carter’s life is finally turning around now that she’s landed a dream job teaching music. What she didn’t see coming was the imminent closure of the school’s music program. She’s determined to save it, even if it means getting creative. There’s no way she’s chalking this up as just another failure in her book of recent embarrassments.
Zach Bryant is back in town just long enough to see his brother Ben get married and then he’s off traveling the world again. He never imagined he’d run into Charlotte Carter, his brother’s ex-fiancé, or that everyone would believe he and Charlotte are an item. He certainly didn’t dream he’d end up riding a tandem bicycle hundreds of miles with her in an attempt to raise funds for a defunct music program, but how can he say no when the prize money would help him out of his financial predicament too?
Charlotte is sure she can set aside her differences with Zach long enough to cross the finish line and win the giant cash prize . . . can’t she? A few hundred miles in, she’s questioning her deeply held assumptions about Zach and wondering if maybe tandem biking is only the start of their biggest adventure yet.
7. How to Honeymoon Alone by Olivia Hayle
A paradise island. Two strangers. The attraction they never saw coming…
When Eden dumped her cheating ex before the wedding, the last thing she expected was to go on their tropical honeymoon alone. But with no refunds possible, she packs her budget guidebook and broken heart, and sets off.
She plans to relax on the beach, swim in the ocean, and drink cocktails until she feels like herself again… or falls over. Whichever comes first. What she’s not expecting is the brusque, handsome stranger who sits down at her table on the first night.
Philip Meyer is a grumpy workaholic, and so irritatingly cynical that it makes her forget she’s grieving just to prove him wrong about the world. The two have nothing in common… except trying to forget who they’ve left behind.
The luxury resort isn’t too big, and fate soon pushes them together again. And again. Catamaran cruises and midnight swims give way to late night room service and whispered nothings. Maybe opposites really do attract.
But every vacation has to end, even the very best ones… Can these two opposites make it last?
8. Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller
Love breaks all the rules.
Margo Anderson is sworn off commitment. Alongside her best friend, Jo, she runs a viral podcast featuring rules for hooking up without catching feelings. So when Jo surprises her by deciding to get married and taking up a sponsor’s offer to host an all-expenses-paid wedding trip on Catalina Island, they have the whole internet to answer to.
In a scramble for content to appease their disappointed listeners, Margo cooks up a social experiment: Break all her own dating rules, just to prove that it’s a bad idea. And she’s found the best man for the job in the groom’s best friend and her old high school nemesis, Declan Walsh. He may be easier on the eyes than Margo remembered, but he’s sure to be as smug and annoying as he was before—there is no chance Margo will ever catch feelings for him . . . until she does.
The more time they spend together through cake tastings and wedding party activities, the more Margo can’t ignore their obvious spark, and she may actually be enjoying getting to know Declan. But can she let go of the rules to let him in?
9. Sweet Summer Nights by Anne Kemp
I friend-zoned Wyatt Hogan years ago…But this Fourth of July brings fireworks!
It’s been a few years since I left my hometown, but somehow Lake Lorelei and my closest friend Wyatt have become even more gorgeous.
He’s a fireman now?! That’s going to come in handy with all the sparks flying between us.
Wait…
It’s Wyatt. There are good reasons we’ve kept love off the table. Life has served up some big decisions, and I have enough on my plate without getting side-tracked by a trusty hunk of a man who I’d let put out my fire anytime he likes – if you know what I mean.
I can’t be the ridiculous girl who falls in love with her best friend….right?
Sweet Summer Nights is a friends-to-lovers romcom with laugh out loud moments, relatable characters and a happily ever after you won’t want to miss. Fall in love with Lake Lorelei and its residents and savor the swoony, sizzling chemistry with this closed door romance!
10. My So-Called Sex Life by Lauren Blakely
One trip across Europe. Two arch enemies. And seven nights with only one bed in the room in a spicy new standalone romance from Lauren Blakely!
The last person I want to be stuck with anywhere for one night, let alone seven, is the too-sexy-for-my-own-good Axel Huxley. I tried to work with the cocky grump once upon a time, but we’re like vodka and good decisions. We don’t play well together.
Only now, our publishers are sending us on a joint book tour across Europe on an old-fashioned luxury train. And thanks to a booking snafu, I have to share a sleeper car with the man who’s made a sport of infuriating me.
You guessed it–there’s only one bed.
I’m not sure I can survive the next seven days and nights with my dangerously sexy enemy and all our fiery tension.
Which explodes one night in a desperately needed hate bang.
But the bigger plot twist is this – the more time we spend together, visiting the most romantic cities in Europe by day and discovering each other at night, the more I’m forced to face our past.
To let go of the hurt.
To see the man he’s become.
And when I do, I wonder if it’s too late to write a new happy ending for us?
So uh… did you notice I didn’t add any mysteries/thrillers? That’s because I have been striking out on them lately! Any recommendations for a really good one?
Do you find yourself reaching for a certain genre this time of year like I do?
I am very excited to see what you’re all looking forward to reading and hope to find lots of books to add to my TBR!
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